Written by

Free Press Staff Writer

A group of Burlington residents Monday night alleged that the city’s hiring of Vermont Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, earlier this month verged on “patronage.”

City officials said the charge failed to take into account Ram’s thorough vetting by committee — and the set of skills she brings to the job at the Community and Economic Development Office.

Ram was hired in early November as a community development specialist to further public engagement between the city and grassroots organizations, Neighborhood Planning Assemblies and other groups; and to help create a new City Hall intern program.

Previous to working with CEDO, Ram was the legal director for the Burlington nonprofit Women Helping Battered Women.

Ram’s close political alignment with Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger (she endorsed his bid for mayor) “undermines public trust and subverts democracy,” according to a letter read by two of its signatories during the City Council public comments session.

The letter also states that Ram’s roles in the Legislature and the University of Vermont board of trustees “compromise her ability to remain impartial when it comes to competing policy decisions, such as the allocation of city resources and housing.”

Ram’s job will be cut to part time during the 14- to 16-week legislative session, which runs Tuesdays through Fridays.

Community and Economic Development Office Director Peter Owens said the city could not legally discriminate against a job applicant in Vermont’s “citizen legislature:” Employers must accommodate the schedule of representatives — few, of which, if any, earn a complete livelihood at the Statehouse.

Nor may an applicant’s involvement in party politics be considered while assessing his or her merits, Owens added.

The five-person committee that interviewed Ram ultimately recommended her over other applicants because “she’s a very talented person,” Owens said.

The letter criticizing her employment states that Ram’s qualifications are diluted by her other allegiances.

“The people of Burlington require the undivided attention of the person who serves in this position and we should not suffer the burden of reduced services while the Legislature is in session,” read FaRied Munarsyah, a Burlington resident who signed the letter and read its second half.

The city needs a more transparent hiring process, continued Munarsyah, a technology coordinator with the Burlington-based Vermont Workers’ Center.

Ram was elected to the Vermont Legislature in 2008, soon after graduating from the University of Vermont.

She represents the Chittenden 3-4 District, which includes Burlington’s Hill Section, UVM and the Old North End.